Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter XXXIV - With Heads Held High

Aeyrin peered at the building by the northern gates of Riften curiously.

"There's nothing different about it. I told you, it's basically a bunkhouse," Bishop laughed at her heartily.

"It looks... shabby. Are there performances being held there too?" she wrinkled her nose. She could not imagine anyone but a singing drunkard putting up a performance there.

"Hah! No. If you're not looking for a cheap bed, a cheap whore or... 'spying' I guess... there's really no need for you to go there," he smirked at her. He'd been inside only once. To threaten the proprietor, Haelga, for protection money. That was the kind of job that Mercer had the former bandits do while all his 'proper thieves' were sent on infiltrations and heists.

Aeyrin let out a disappointed sigh, but, after a while, her expression turned hopeful again. "Is there anything like the Imbel's House in Skyrim?"

"I feel like you're hung up on the performances. Does it have to be a brothel? I'm sure there's stuff like that happening at the Bards College," Bishop answered after some time of pondering. None of the brothels that he knew about were so fancy. In fact, most of them were just like Haelga's Bunkhouse. But who knew what kinds of establishments the high society had? He only knew the things from the circles that he used to run in. There was nothing fancy about those.

"I guess... but the shows at the brothel were so much more daring than anywhere else. It was fun to see the art without all the reservations," she shrugged before she noticed Bishop sly smirk. "Please don't start with all that 'repressed life at a temple stuff', it was art. You know... honoring Dibella."

"Of course, love. Whatever helps you sleep at night," he chuckled meanly. There was really no point in explaining the nuances of Dibellan worship to him – he was just saying that to rile her up anyway.

After seeing the disappointing brothel, they made their way across the canal towards the marketplace.

There was a lot to worry about while they were in Riften. The Guild could try something – at least those loyal to Mercer could. Aeyrin needed to stay in public areas the whole time and Bishop needed to at least stay hidden if he had to steal or spy on the workers. Luckily, Karliah gave him several invisibility potions for the mission. If he ever got in a bind, he could use one to escape too.

Furthermore, even though Maven forbade her people from trying to claim the bounty on Aeyrin, there was still a chance that some of the soldiers, the workers or even her family would decide that the money was worth defying her. Well... probably not her family – fifteen thousand septims was likely pocket money for them. But luckily, Bishop and Aeyrin were let inside the city instantly without any hassle and nobody seemed to be watching them too intently. It was a good sign.

Aeyrin also worried about Bishop's bounty after what she saw in Whiterun. Rumors spread through Skyrim like wildfire and he was still officially banished from the Rift too – how come nobody knew about it there? Didn't the word of the Thrice-Banished at Dragonborn's side reach them?

Bishop reassured her that there was nothing to worry about. The name Thrice-Banished was not exactly known outside of bandit circles. Only a few of the affected nobles remembered it. So, while the rumor about the Dragonborn harboring a bandit may have gotten around, nobody would know who he actually was and nobody would be able to link him to the old bounty. Those were over twenty years old and lost in some bureaucratic archives anyway. Even Balgruuf didn't have the actual bounty notice at hand and he likely didn't know about the other places that it applied to. He just remembered what was done to him and to some of the nobles in his city.

Besides, there were so many rumors about them going all over Skyrim, from all the corners – the Solitude crowd has apparently been obsessed with the rumors about Aeyrin and Casavir, Windhelm people were partly convinced that Aeyrin was merely pretending to be the Dragonborn, and who knew what other rumors were out there?